what are your thoughts on yellow paper steel as the core for a laminated blade???

JBroida

09-16-2011, 09:39 PM

yellow 2 or yellow 3?

rmbonham

09-17-2011, 12:23 AM

hmm not sure. Did not know there was a 2 and a three. Pretty much a virgin when it cmes to japanese steel. what would the difference be and which one do you feel is superior?

JBroida

09-17-2011, 12:29 AM

#2 is similar to a lot of the SK steels... not the best for kitchen knives, but acceptable... tends to stink a bit when cutting acidic foods... #3 has too little carbon to be good for kitchen knives

Gator

09-17-2011, 12:39 AM

Actually there is 3 of them... Kigami 2 vs. Kigami 3, v.s. Kigami Saw steel composition comparison (http://zknives.com/knives/steels/steelgraph.php?nm=Kigami%202%2CKigami%203%2CKigami %20Saw&ni=909,910,1417&hrn=1&gm=0). Never used any of those, but if I had to guess, Kigami 2 would be the better fit for the kitchen knives, with higher carbon content, and being a little more pure.

Cipcich

09-17-2011, 04:15 AM

Narrow question, but a cool chart.
Are you thinking of making a knife, or buying one?

Cipcich

09-17-2011, 05:30 AM

OK. clearly, you're not considering making a knife.
And let me preface this by saying that that the other respondents to your query are far more knowledgeable about kitchen knives than I am, probably by several orders of magnitude.
Nevertheless, I wouldn't base my decision on buying a knife solely on the steel. I happen to really like the yellow steel knives by one maker (Sadayusa), but my opinion should be appropriately weighted, as I lack the experience and knowledge to back it up.
It would be very interesting, at least to me, for Gator would get hold of one and do a review.

JBroida

09-17-2011, 06:17 AM

sadayasu is interesting... the heat treat is geared towards toughness and edge retention and they do a very good job with it. However, that is just one company of hunderds, most of whom do a very poor job with yellow steel.

Either way, i would stay away from yellow #3 (and white #3 for that matter) with kitchen knives

Jon, have you any experience with Sadayasu?, if so I would be interested to hear it.

Cipcich

09-17-2011, 08:05 AM

I mentioned Sadayusa in the earlier thread to which you made reference, and another member offered an opinion with which I largely agreed. I don't know how he broke the tip of his knife, but I received one with a broken tip, and chose to fix it rather than send it back. I wouldn't part with a Sadayusa over so small an issue.
While I have no objective means of measuring hardness, other than feel or glass, I believe the knives to be exceedingly hard. That's one thing I like about them, and something which no doubt contributes to what I perceive to be their other virtues; i.e., they get razor sharp and stay sharp, though they are prone to developing micro chips. I enjoy sharpening these knives more than any others I own.
Sadayusa knives do have a somewhat rustic quality, as was noted, but are well made. I personally haven't detected any appreciable discoloration or odor.
A more professional evaluation would be of general interest.

Jon, have you any experience with Sadayasu?, if so I would be interested to hear it.

i've used one and sharpened 2... rustic, yes... but nice overall. I find them a little on the tall side for me and the tip shape is kind of wierd to me, but it works just fine on those knives. Sharpening was a little more difficult than i expeected based on my othr experience with yellow steel, but still not too bad. I did get some chipping on the edge when i slammed it down on my board, but then again i slammed it down on my board ;)

They were the first yellow steel knives i didnt think were a joke.

rmbonham

09-17-2011, 12:44 PM

thank you all, but i have decided to go with s30v using stock removal method and sending it off for proper heat treat and cryo.